"In 1944, the penultimate year of World War Two, the Japanese offensive to invade British India was severely defeated with the enemy suffering heavy casualties. As a result they were forced to withdraw far back into Burma with the British and Indian forces in close pursuit. Towards the end of the year, it became evident that the Japanese commander intended to make a stand - not on the Shwebo plain north-west of Mandalay as was originally expected - but rather to use the wide Irawaddy River as an obstacle behind which he would position his main strength ... This book, after initially looking at the battles of Kohima and Imphal - both disastrous defeats for the Japanese - traces the British advance into Burma pushing the Japanese back eastward. It then focuses on, in some detail, the British crossings of the Irrawaddy River at three places south of Mandalay - at Pakokku, Nyaung U, and Bagan - banks and shores ..."--Book flap.